Southern Italian Farmer's Table Authentic Recipes And Local Lore From Tuscany To Sicily

by Scialabba, Matthew; Pellegrino, Melissa

• ISBN13: 9780762770823
• ISBN10: 0762770821
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-03
• Publisher: Lyons Press

Summary

The Southern Italian Farmer's Tableis a sumptuously illustrated cookbook featuring authentic recipes from over thirty agriturismi(working family farms that provide room & board to travelers) in central and southern Italy, where the cuisine served epitomizes the farm-fresh movement underway in the United States, the UK, and beyond. Visitors to agriturismi, who come from all over Europe and North America, indulge in such delights as vibrant green olive oil fresh from the press, a myriad of hand shaped pastas cooked to perfection, and wedges of aged pecorino redolent of verdant green pastures. Professional chefs who are fluent in Italian, Matthew and Melissa have transcribed more than 150 authentic Italian recipes from these family farmsfew of which are found in cookbooks available outside of Italy. Full-color photographs and anecdotes about the farms and their residents bring Italy's glorious countryside to life and complement such recipes as fried spaghetti nests, crepe lasagna with pork ragu, spicy Calabrian chicken, and sweet cakes filled with ricotta and chocolate. All recipe ingredients are given in both U.S. and metric measurements.

Author Biography

Matthew Scialabba and Melissa Pellegrino, a husband-and-wife cooking and writing team, met while living in Italy. Their shared passion for Italian food and culture led them on many culinary journeys, including apprenticeships at a Roman bakery, studying winemaking at a Ligurian vineyard, graduating from professional culinary schools in Manhattan and Florence, and working and cooking together at several Italian agriturismi. They are authors of The Italian Farmer’s Table, and owners of Bufalina wood fired pizza in Guilford, Connecticut.

Excerpts

“The undeniable fact is that Italians simply know how to eat. They can talk about what is for dinner while eating lunch, and why a dish from their own province is so much better than that of their neighbor when the two are virtually identical. A common thread throughout the country is that quality of ingredients is crucial, including understanding where they are grown and how they are made. And that is why agriturismi are so special. We hope that the stories and recipes on these pages offer a taste and flavor of Italian working farms, and inspire you with the purest examples of the Italian philosophy so fundamental to its cuisine.”

— From the Introduction